Monday, December 22, 2014

The NBA's Christmas Day Showcase game will feature the return of LeBron James to Miami. Longtime friend and former teammate Dwyane Wade shed light on the hours before James' decision to leave the Miami Heat and also how the two have remained friends.

"We had already planned to go to Vegas earlier in the year," Wade said. "[LeBron's] camp was out there at the time, and I was out there with D-Wright. It was perfect timing to be out there with two of my best friends. So that summer, it was already planned. When it came to the decision that had to be made, I kind of knew a little bit. I could feel it a little bit. But I didn't know it 100 percent until we talked. But I could feel it. I knew it was tough on him. It was probably harder because I was around, because it was a tough time to make that decision for him. And then, one of the toughest parts was because of me and the relationship we had and stuff like that."

"That's all I ever will be is Dwyane the friend," Wade said. "Dwyane the teammate, I'm not that guy. I knew whenever it comes to somebody having to do what's best for them, I'm always going to take myself out of it and give them the best advice I feel I can give. I'm not going to be biased and give them what I think is going to be best for me. I'm going to give them what I feel is best for them, and I've always been that way in any situation. I tried to be selfless. I took being his teammate out of it and I was just his friend. It was as simple as saying, 'Do what’s best for LeBron James, because everybody is going to benefit from you. You stay in Miami, we benefit from you. Wherever you go, do what's best for you, because wherever you play, somebody is going to benefit off of you. So you have to be happy with your situation.'